Navajo activist and artist receives environmental award.
Indigenous activist Klee Benally is being honored with the Nuclear-Free Future Award for his work against uranium mining in his native Arizona. Posthumously, because Benally joined his ancestors on December 30, 2023. He was 48 years old. More here.
USA: In Louisiana, the original Mardi Gras still exists.
Every year in New Orleans, black carnivalists transform into “Mardi Gras Indians”. And in the countryside, drunken riders in feather costumes chase chickens. Als in the USA, traditions are still alive and astonishing. More here.
One year ago today, the young Lakota Esther Wolfe fell victim to a “public execution”.
Esther was one of the many missing indigenous women – for nine long days and nights. That was how long her former partner held her captive and brutally abused her. After that, Esther called herself a “survivor”. She made her journey to the Spirit World in Rapid City, South Dakota, on February 21, 2024 at the age of 25. I interviewed her there in December 2022. You can find the text and interview that I posted after her murder here.
Searching for clues at birthplace of the black human rights activist
Malcolm X was a charismatic speaker and became known worldwide as one of the leaders of the black movement “Nation of Islam”. With his radical views, he was seen by many as an opponent of Martin Luther King, who advocated non-violence. More here.
Guest post by Volker Seitz on the controversy surrounding USAID
President Donald Trump has ordered a 90-day pause in development aid – with the exception of humanitarian aid – until its efficiency and consistency with US foreign policy have been assessed. Germany should take this as an example, says the guest author. More here.
Two female writers, a bank robbery and an adopted fox
The best thing about traveling is the people I meet along the way. At Flathead Lake in Montana, I met two remarkable women. Both are rooted in their Christian faith, write under a pen name and self-publish their books. Get to know Hannah and Sarah and their powerful stories – in real life as well as in their books. More here.
Indigenous long-term prisoner Leonard Peltier may go home.
In the final moments of his term of office, US President Joe Biden commuted the two life sentences of Leonard Peltier, activist of the American Indian Movement, to house arrest. Despite pleas from supporters, the White House refused to grant a full pardon. More here.
Elon Musk’s tweets catapult mass rape into the spotlight.
British-Pakistani rape gangs have been wreaking havoc in Great Britain for decades. Politicians and authorities are said to have covered up their crimes against minors, partly for fear of being seen as racist. More here.
Canadian wild geese, childhood memories and a song
My favorite subject here on the north shore of Flathead Lake are the Canadian wild geese that gather here and in the surrounding fields. I love their calls. They inevitably bring back fond memories. More here.
The suspected Islamist terrorist attack in New Orleans overshadows the start of the new year.
Will people in the USA, as in Germany, soon think twice about going to outdoor festivities and entertainment districts? Let’s defy the terrorists with joie de vivre! In Woods Bay, Montana, people do this on New Year’s Day with the “Polar Bear Plunge” into the ice-cold water of Flathead Lake.